Trilby by George du Maurier
"Trilby" is a novel by George du Maurier that revolves around the life of a young model named Trilby O'Ferrall in 1850s Paris. The story begins with three English artists—Little Billee, Taffy, and the Laird—who become enchanted by Trilby, despite her being tone-deaf yet possessing the physical attributes of a great singer. The plot thickens with the introduction of Svengali, a sinister figure who uses hypnosis to manipulate Trilby and help her sing. As the narrative unfolds, each of the men falls in love with her, but Trilby struggles with her past, leading to a complicated relationship with Little Billee, who ultimately proposes marriage.
Despite their affection, societal pressures and personal insecurities prevent their union. Trilby later becomes a star, known as "La Svengali," but her fame is intertwined with tragedy. After Svengali's death, she loses her ability to sing and grapples with her memories, ultimately leading to her early demise at just 23 years old. The novel explores themes of love, manipulation, and the cost of artistic ambition, and it highlights the profound impact of Svengali on Trilby’s life and career.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Trilby
First published: 1894 (serial form, Harper’s Monthly Magazine, January-July, 1894)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—extrasensory powers
Time of work: The late 1850’s, the early 1860’s, and twenty-five years later
Locale: Primarily Paris, France, and London, England
The Plot
George du Maurier offered the plot of Trilby to his good friend Henry James, but James insisted that du Maurier write the story himself. During the serialization, a minor character appeared who was loosely modeled on American painter James McNeill Whistler, whom du Maurier had known during his student days in Paris. Whistler brought a lawsuit against the publisher, demanding that the character be removed from the novel. Du Maurier complied, and the publicity surrounding the dispute helped to make Trilby a best-seller.
The novel opens on an April day in Paris in the mid-1850’s. Three young Englishmen—Little Billee, Taffy, and the Laird—are in their studio in the Latin Quarter. In this opening scene, most of the major characters are introduced and described. The innocent Little Billee is the most talented painter of the three. Taffy is a tall, muscular Yorkshireman, and the Laird is a Scot. That afternoon, Svengali and Gecko enter the studio and introduce themselves. Svengali, a tall, dark, sinister-looking older man with piercing, hypnotic black eyes, sits down at the piano in the studio and plays heavenly music while Gecko, his music pupil, accompanies him on the violin. Trilby O’Ferrall, an attractive young model, joins the group. The men learn that she models in the nude for a select few artists. Although she has many of the physical attributes to make her a great singer, she is tone deaf. She is a genuinely good person despite her past liaisons.
As the year passes, each of the men in his own way falls in love with Trilby. Svengali, able to cure her headaches by hypnotizing her, woos her with threats, and the powerful Taffy often has to reprimand him. Trilby prefers the three painters, especially Little Billee, who falls hopelessly in love with her. He is crushed when one day he finds Trilby modeling in the nude for his fellow art students. Despite his puritanical feelings, he begs Trilby to marry him, but she refuses, believing that her past would haunt their life together. Finally, on Christmas night, Little Billee proposes marriage one last time. Trilby takes pity on him and accepts.
Little Billee’s mother and his clergyman uncle rush to Paris and persuade Trilby not to marry Little Billee. Trilby leaves Paris, and Little Billee takes ill and is months in recovering. By April, he is well enough to return to England with his mother, though he knows that he has lost the ability to love. In the meantime, Trilby’s little brother has died, and she has returned to Paris. Svengali takes her in and hypnotizes her to help her recover from her grief.
Five years later, Little Billee has become a successful artist. At a party in London, he hears of the singing sensation of the century, La Svengali. He and his two old friends visit Paris to hear La Svengali, who turns out to be Trilby. When Little Billee sees her on stage, he is shocked into feeling love again.
During a performance in London, Svengali dies of a heart attack. Without him, Trilby is no longer able to sing. The three Englishmen take her in, finding her weak and unable to remember anything about her singing career. Before she dies, she sees a photograph of Svengali, his eyes mesmerize her one last time, and she sings one last perfect song. Not long after her death, Little Billee also dies. Twenty-five years later, in Paris, Taffy and his wife encounter Gecko, Svengali’s violin pupil. Gecko explains that Trilby had learned to sing while under hypnosis. The strain on her body and mind had taken its toll and had caused her death at the age of twenty-three.